The Lawyer Awards 2026 shortlist has landed like a surprise costs order on a Friday afternoon, and if you were banking on seismic upheaval in the legal pecking order… well, take a nap and wait for another year.
Slaughter and May has basically turned The Lawyer Awards shortlist into its own personal trophy room, racking up nods in Team of the Year for Energy Transition, Finance, Private Capital, Corporate, Litigation, plus Talent Management and Client Service.
That’s not a shortlist appearance; that’s a hostile takeover with better stationery. Freshfields, Linklaters, Clifford Chance and Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer (post-merger glow-up fully activated) are also doing their usual Magic Circle victory lap across the heavy-hitting categories too.
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